Product Detail

1. Analyze how the nursing standards of care can come under scrutiny.
2. Evaluate authoritative sources.
3. Distinguish between a care plan and the care planning process.
4. Evaluate a strategic nursing documentation system.
5. Defend how documentation is used to decide if you are innocent or guilty in a lawsuit.
6. Propose how to prevent risky behavior when using social media and other forms of electronic communication.
7. Apply best practice and standard of care for documenting incident reports and adverse events.
8. Analyze the Center for Medicare and Medicaid regulatory language on nursing documentation.
9. Formulate a strategic tool for your standard of practice.
10. Evaluate deposition proceedings
11. Analyze timeline chronologies.
12. Develop defense and plaintiff allegations, in response to the same scenario.
13. Integrate the correct practices into your documentation to reduce litigation exposure.
14. Distinguish common documentation mistakes and how to avoid/correct them
15. Evaluate facility policy and procedures for potential risk.
16. Extrapolate the litigation timeline
17. Formulate deposition questions as the plaintiff and/or defense teams.
18. Practice litigation language during mock depositions.

Healthcare Litigation

• Evolving trends in nursing litigation today
• The essence of the story behind litigation
• The burden of proof
• The expert witness seals the deal. Understand the impact.
• Learn whether you should (or shouldn’t) have your own malpractice coverage

The Components of Documentation

• Guidelines and interpretation
• Avoiding mistakes
• A lawyer’s secret weapon: Time stamping on YOUR documentation
• Social networking and indirect care
• Timeline chronology and mapping the case

Electronic Nursing Documentation

• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
• Meaningful Use
• Risky electronic documentation practices
• Charting by exception
• Dangers of email, social networking, and texting
• Should you make a late chart entry? Or not …?
• Avoid the hazards of dropdown boxes in your medical record system

Electronic Medical Record Strategies

• Time management
• Liability
• Software knowledge/Informatics
• Does the case have merit?

Reimbursement and Documentation

• Medicare and Medicaid Changes
• Incentives for participation
• Hospital Acquired Conditions

Elements of a Lawsuit

• Plaintiff complaints
• Medical record review
• Timeline chronology
• Evidence
• Plaintiff deposition testimony

Documentation: When Things Go Wrong

• Compliance
• Unsafe processes
• Regulations
• Incident reporting
• Adverse events and risk factors
• When to ask/demand help from a supervisor
• When the patient must transfer out
• Standards that are within standards
• Deviations, real or perceived
• Errors of omission and commission
• Communicating clearly
• Defense deposition testimony

Avoiding Risky Documentation

• Credible evidence
• Avoiding ambiguity
• Recording events objectively
• Late entries and correcting errors

What if the Worst Happens

• Duty/Breach of Duty
• Nurse Practice Act
• State Board of Nursing
• Depositions

Brenda Elliff, RN, MPA, ONC, CCM, LNCC, established Elliff Medical-Legal Services in 1996. As a legal nurse consultant, she assists on both plaintiff and defense cases. She performs record reviews, develops strategies and provides expert witness preparation. Her work involves Medical Malpractice, Worker’s Compensation, Personal Injury and a variety of legal cases. Previously, Brenda worked as a Health Care Coordinator for a large law firm and taught a Legal Nurse Consultation review course. Initially, she began working with attorneys on legal cases in California and has now expanded her scope throughout the Pacific NW.

Her clinical nursing experiences are vast and span 40 years. Brenda has worked as a staff nurse, as a nurse manager at major teaching facilities, as nurse case manager and as an adjunct nursing professor.

When not nursing, Brenda enjoys participating with a local performing group. The group has performed at the LA Christmas Parade, 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Parade in Honolulu and the Washington DC Cherry Blossom Parade. Past nurses who have attended Brenda’s programs have appreciated the dynamic and fun way in which she can deliver excellent clinical and legal information. She has been a sought-after speaker at national, state and local levels, on a variety of topics that draw from her areas of expertise. Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Brenda Elliff maintains a private practice. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.

Nonfinancial:Brenda Elliff has no relevant non-financial relationships to disclose.

Save time and $10 off the price of other submission methods – purchase & take the CE test online for $39.99 USD per participant. Additional processing fees apply for other submission methods (i.e. mail, fax, etc.). Please contact our Customer Service at 1-800-844-8260 for more details.

Listed below are the continuing education credit(s) currently available for this non-interactive self-study package. Please note, your state licensing board dictates whether self study is an acceptable form of continuing education. Please refer to your state rules and regulations.

Certificates of Successful Completion are available for email, download and/or printing from your online account immediately following the successful completion of the post-test/evaluation.

**Materials that are included in this course may include interventions and modalities that are beyond the authorized practice of mental health professionals. As a licensed professional, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined in law as beyond the boundaries of practice in accordance with and in compliance with your professions standards.

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners. For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

California Nurses: PESI, Inc. is a provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #:17118 for 18.0 self-study contact hours.

You will need to provide your license number to PESI. PESI must have this number on file in order for your hours to be valid.

Florida Nurses: PESI, Inc. is an approved provider by the Florida Board of Nursing. Provider #: FBN2858. These materials qualify for 18.0 self-study contact hours.

Iowa Nurses: PESI, Inc. is an approved provider by the Iowa Board of Nursing. Provider #: 346. Nurses successfully completing these self-study materials will earn 18.3 self-study contact hours.

Copies of the evaluation may be sent to the IBON. You will need to provide your license number to PESI. PESI must have this number on file in order for your hours to be valid.

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Other Professions
This self-study activity qualifies for 18.25 clock hours of instructional content as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Retain your certificate of completion and contact your board or organization for specific filing requirements.

Disclaimer: **Information obtained in this course should be used within your scope of practice.
**It is your ethical responsibility to report accurate hours to your licensing board.
**All self-study participants must complete and pass (80% or better) a post-test and evaluation prior to receiving a certificate of completion. If you require a copy of the test/evaluation for CE purposes, please print at the time you take the test. Or you may call our customer service department and a copy of your test/evaluation will be emailed to you. Please allow 30-45 days.

• Nurses
• Nurse Practitioners
• Clinical Nurse Specialists
• Nurse Educators
• Legal Nurse Consultants
• Risk Management
• Paralegals
• Attorneys